Scale

Given that the new espresso machine was bought on the cheap, I expected to have to put a little work into it. I planned on flushing the boiler and taking a look see to find out why the hot water spout was putting out funk.


That might have had something to do with it. What you see in the shot above is scale build up within the boiler. Fortunately it wasn't large chunks which I have seen pictures of, so bad that it looked like somebody mixed cement in the boiler. I mixed up a big batch of citric acid solution at 2 Tbsp/L and let the pump draw the solution into the boiler. From that point, I ran water through every path possible and then get things up to temperature to help the citric acid do its thing.


That has to be some sort of tasty, mineral rich, koolade, but I didn't get a chance to taste any. The citric acid solution was clear when it went in the machine.


There was quite a bit of mineral sludge from the first drain of the boiler, post soak. It took about three more times, filling and flushing to get the water to the clear and free of any sign of citric acid. I did a quick back flush on both groups and will pull my morning shots on the new machine to test it out. I have a little more bench testing and trouble shooting to do, but as soon as the panels come back from the powder coater, it will be ready to go to the shop.